Grilled hoisin chicken and grilled asparagus make a fresh and cooling appearance inside of these Vietnamese inspired appetizers.

Grilled Hoisin Chicken and Asparagus Summer Rolls

By Sue Lau

Disclaimer: This post is sponsored by Michigan Asparagus. I received compensation and/or product to develop this recipe, however, all opinions are my own.

Welcome to #BBQWeek! Can you believe the hot weather is already here? Time really is flying for me.

This week, I am participating in a cookout event with some of my blogging friends that is being sponsored by Michigan Asparagus. They were gracious enough to send me along some lovely spears to pop into this recipe, but you know you most certainly can grab some at your local farm market or grocer. I spied some just today over at Pipkin’s Market in Blue Ash.

I thought I had this week all figured out when Ellen over at Family Around the Table announced it in one of our bloggers groups. I am grilling all the time, so have no end of that kind of recipe tucked away in my files. But when Michigan Asparagus jumped on board, I knew I wanted to do something really special and delicious with this wonderful vegetable.

I’ve been on a bit of a run doing a lot of Asian recipes at home (you may not always see things as I do them). And just today I ran mouth-first into some Indian tomato chutney that has left me crazy to put together some new recipes in that type of cuisine. Bill says he always likes to see me get this way about an ingredient because I can be quite infectious with enthusiasm.

So when thinking of asparagus I was remembering fondly a recipe I did years ago at the old Recipezaar in a recipe contest there that had crab and asparagus as a summer roll. I had also been remembering fondly a grilling recipe I did for Hoisin Chicken with Mai Fun. For some time I have been wanting to do yet another soft roll with less carbs in it so I struck out the noodles and smashed these two wonderful recipes together.

The Vietnamese usually make these type of rolls with shrimp or pork with herbs and rice vermicelli, and call them summer rolls, since they are not fried like spring rolls. And depending, these will get served with a nuoc cham fish sauce that is sweetened, or sometimes a hoisin dipping sauce, occasionally topped with peanuts. These cold rolls are very refreshing in the hot summer months. You may have seen those on menus as goi cuon.

Of course, in my recipe, I wanted to have something grilled in it, so my hoisin chicken became my choice. It’s not authentically Vietnamese. The hoisin sauce is Chinese, but I wouldn’t go so far as to call the chicken Chinese. It has some in common with chargrilled meats in Vietnamese cuisine, such as the grilled pork (thit). The rice paper wrappers are Vietnamese but I haven’t seen very many recipes use much outside of the traditional noodles, bit of shrimp or pork and herbs.

I took another turn with this getting rid of the noodles and just popping some lettuce in, so in some ways it is inspired by the old Chinese lettuce wraps. But you know the asparagus adds body to the rolls, so it’s not like there is a hole where the noodles had been.

These are all very good but they don’t tend to store well, and they can stick if you let them touch too much. One of the restaurants we used to frequent up in Dayton (Little Saigon) used to wrap them in plastic to help protect them. But even so, they don’t like being made way ahead- one time I picked some up just to keep on hand, and after a few hours, even wrapped, they kind of lost quality.

But the great part is that you can get all the filling ready to go ahead. Then just dip the wrapper for a few seconds and pat it dry with paper towels, fill and roll. You can even experiment with different fillings.

The dipping sauce you can make ahead and that should keep about one week, if necessary. If you don’t use all of it in one sitting, try it as a dip for crudite or raw veggies.

Join me throughout the week for other grilling and BBQ recipes as well as things suitable for a backyard bbq. I have Tandoori Chicken Tikka with Masala Grilled Corn coming on Wednesday and my recipe for Jerk Chickenon Friday with a couple other things in-between, since #BBQWeek runs M-W-F only. Join me each and every day so you don’t miss a mite!

Grill chicken and asparagus over a moderately heated grill on an oiled grill grate until chicken is cooked through and asparagus is tender and lightly charred.

Slice chicken thinly after resting 5-10 minutes.

Briefly soak rice papers in warm water a few seconds until they start to become pliable; dab dry with paper toweling.

Lay flat and place a lettuce leaf, 1-2 asparagus, about 1.5 ounces cooked chicken, a little bit of carrot and mint leaves on the wrapper; fold sides towards center, then fold the top down and roll up gently but firmly like a burrito. Keep covered with a damp paper towel afterwards while you work and do not stack them (they may try to stick).

Serve immediately with dipping sauce.

From the kitchen of palatablepastime.com

Welcome to #BBQWeek

Let’s fire up the grill, serve up some burgers or steaks or chicken and some delicious sides and desserts! Follow #BBQWeek so you don’t miss one delicious recipe. There are more than 20 recipes this week from some amazing bloggers.

Fresh asparagus is the taste of spring and Michigan is one of the largest domestic asparagus growers in the United States. Michigan Asparagus is available mid-May through June and is the only hand snapped harvested asparagus which means more usable asparagus and less waste. Local Michigan farmers produce approximately 25 million pounds of Michigan Asparagus during the state’s 6-7 week harvest. Michigan Asparagus has excellent flavor and a long shelf life. It is a nutrient-dense, low-calorie vegetable with no fat, no cholesterol, and very little sodium.

Giveaway is open to residents of the United States who are 18 years of age or older. Prize will be sent after the close of the giveaway. Bloggers are not responsible for prize fulfillment.

Favorite Links

Always a place at my table…

2,679,644 hungry people were here

FTC Disclosure: Palatable Pastime is written, edited and owned by Sue Lau. Please note that this post may contain affiliate links and I may be paid a commission if clicked. These small commissions help keep Palatable Pastime running and contributes to keeping the lights on and the electric bill paid. Thank you for your continued support!

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.